From April 7th to 9th, 2025, the AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting was held in Vienna, Austria. The conference, themed "Transformation and Innovation in Global Business Education," gathered representatives from business schools across more than 60 countries and regions. Professor Hu Chuan, Associate Dean of the School of Business Administration (SBA), Associate Professor Wu Yingna, Director of the International Accreditation Office, and Associate Professor Ran Yaxuan from the Department of Marketing and Management were invited to attend this grand event.
The conference featured various formats such as keynote speeches, group meetings, and parallel sessions. Under the guidance of industry experts, in-depth exchanges were held on core topics such as knowledge sharing, industry insights, networking, and advancing standards. The participants shared valuable experiences in key areas such as innovation in talent cultivation, faculty development, and enhancing social impact, offering new ideas for the development of global business education.
On the first day of the conference, Lily Bi, President and CEO of AACSB International, released the "2025 State of Business Education Report," systematically analyzing key challenges faced by global business education, such as regional differences, technological innovations, and sustainable development. She emphasized the importance of curriculum reform, international collaboration, and data-driven innovation. Subsequently, Alex Osterwalder, in his keynote speech, proposed that business schools urgently need to reconstruct their governance models and integrate innovation into their strategic core. He also introduced the "Business Model Canvas" tool and its application in curriculum optimization, which sparked enthusiastic responses from the attendees. In the thematic discussion session, experts engaged in deep exchanges on various cutting-edge topics.
Additionally, our faculty members had a friendly meeting with Mr. Xu Guodong, the AACSB East Asia Director. Mr. Xu first acknowledged the efforts made by our school in obtaining AACSB accreditation, and then, considering the general situation of business education in the Asia-Pacific region, pointed out key areas for attention and improvements for our school in the upcoming accreditation process, offering specific suggestions and measures.
Based on the important outcomes of this summit, SBA will focus on advancing the following strategic initiatives: deepening the integration of artificial intelligence and digital education innovation; optimizing international development strategies to enhance global competitiveness; improving faculty development mechanisms to promote both academic and practical capabilities; strengthening the integration of industry and education to enhance social service capacity; innovating educational models to promote the construction of a lifelong learning system. The school will continue to steadily advance its AACSB accreditation efforts, actively promote international development, and work towards becoming a world-renowned business school.
